Giovanni Borgia

Giovanni Borgia (March 1498-1548) was the illegitimate son of Lucrezia Borgia, as well as Duke of Palestrina and Signor of Vetralla.

Biography
Giovanni Borgia was born in March 1498, the illegitimate child of Lucrezia Borgia. His parentage is disputed, with Pedro Caldes, the stable boy Paolo, her brother Cesare Borgia, or even her father Pope Alexander VI being suggested as fathers, although the first two are the most likely. Giovanni was raised as Pope Alexander's son, with Giulia Farnese acting as his mother; later, Cesare claimed that he was the boy's father, and that the mother had died in childbirth. He was called Lucrezia's younger half-brother, and he was named heir to the Duchy of Nepi by his grandfather, the Pope. On 17 September 1501, he was named Duke of Palestrina, and he also became Signor of Vetralla. Throughout his life, he was a minor functionary in the Papal Curia and at the court of France.